Thursday, May 12, 2011

Estimated Time of Arrival: Twins' Injury Update

Young could be the first major bat to return to the Twins line-up (Photo: Getty Images)

The Twins have struggled to field a healthy line-up for most of the season in 2011. There have been new faces up and down the roster as the Twins pushed their team to get healthy. The idea of a healthy team is starting to become more of a reality.

Here is a break-down of where the players are on their path to recovery. They are listed in order of their estimated time of arrival (ETA) with the Twins. Some of the ETA are based on where they are in their recovery. Other ETA's are estimates based on other sources and the way the schedule is laid-out.

Delmon Young- Young has been down in Florida to make appearances in extended spring training for the Twins. In Tuesday's game he was 4-5 with four singles including two infield singles. His rib injury has flummoxed some observers as he was in the line-up for one game. After not being able to get warmed-up in the cold weather, Young was placed on the DL. Most thought Young would be back by now but that has not been the case. He was scheduled to play in the field for six innings last night and if all goes well, he will be back with the Twins for this weekend. Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA): Friday, May 13th vs. Toronto

Jim Thome- Thome is eligible to come of the DL at the beginning of next week. Thome has taken batting practice a couple times this week in Florida and did not report any issues. He is scheduled to DH in a game on Thursday night. Thome's bat could be a welcome addition to a struggling middle of the order. ETA: Monday, May 16th at Seattle

Jason Repko- Repko will essentially be taking the place of Delmon Young in extended spring training. He left the Twin Cities on Wednesday and will start work-outs in Florida. He has been taking batting practice and fielding pop-flies. Repko will give his injury a few in-game trials before he returns to the Twins Cities. He is eligible to come off the DL on May 17 so look for him to rejoin the Twins around that time. ETA: Wednesday, May 18th at Oakland

Tsuyoshi Nishioka- There were reports released earlier this week that Nishioka experienced some soreness during his workouts in Florida. He has yet to do anything to strenuous and the training staff is classifying his workouts as light. They have currently been rolling the ball to him for fielding drills. Hopefully this soreness won't be a set-back for Nishioka because the Twins desperately need some consistency in the middle infield. ETA: Thursday, June 2nd at Kansas City

Joe Mauer- The mysterious leg weakness that is plaguing the hometown star could be getting closer to being a thing of the past. Mauer has begun participating in baseball activities but that does not include anything related to catching. He took batting practice at Target Field during this week's Tigers series. Both Mauer and the team are shying away from putting a timetable on his return. Mauer has stated that he won't come back until he can be a full time catcher. He does not want to push himself back just to be a DH. ETA: Unknown (Guesstimate~~Thursday, June 9th vs. Texas)